Raul Asencio Embraces Mourinho's Return to Real Madrid
Raul Asencio spent his Sunday at Montmelo watching engines scream around the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. The Real Madrid defender is already racing toward a very different kind of project: the second coming of Jose Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The academy graduate, speaking to Spanish media at the Grand Prix, could barely hide his enthusiasm about the Portuguese coach’s return and the direction in which the club is heading.
“I think it’s very exciting and I’m really looking forward to starting,” Asencio said, framing Mourinho’s new era as a reset built on familiar principles: intensity, edge, confrontation with complacency.
He remembers the first spell well, even if he watched it as a boy.
“I was little and I saw it, how the team changed, the competitiveness he introduced to the club, the passion and grit … I think those are characteristics that define me as a player.”
That is the core of the appeal for him. Mourinho’s Madrid once thrived on siege mentality and sharp elbows, a team that hunted titles and records with a snarl. Asencio wants in on that version.
“I’m really excited to start with him at the helm. Yes, of course. He set the record, let’s go for it.”
The target is obvious. Barcelona have ruled La Liga for the last two seasons. Real Madrid want their title back, and they want it with the kind of relentlessness Mourinho demands. Asencio sounds like a player who believes that mindset alone can tilt the balance of power.
The conversation quickly moved from the touchline to the transfer market.
Bernardo Silva has been heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu, and while nothing has been made official, Asencio did not hesitate when asked what the Manchester City playmaker would bring.
“He’s very, very good, it would be a real boost for the team,” he said, succinct but emphatic about the quality of the Portuguese international.
He did not dress it up as a revolution. Just a serious upgrade for a squad already being reshaped.
“We’ll welcome anyone that comes with open arms and we’re sure that the project being built is incredible.”
It is the kind of line that reveals the mood inside Valdebebas: doors open, standards high, no fear of internal competition. A new coach, a possible marquee signing, and a group of young players eager to attach themselves to something that feels big.
Away from club matters, Asencio’s focus still drifts back to the national team. He is not in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad for the 2026 World Cup, despite previous call-ups, but he talks like a fan who has lived the shirt from the inside.
“From here, as a Spaniard and as an admirer, I support the team, I wish them the best, that they reach the final and can win and celebrate together.”
Spain open their campaign against debutants Cape Verde, a matchup Asencio expects La Roja to handle without drama. It is the kind of fixture that should set a tone rather than test their limits.
For Asencio, the immediate future is different. No World Cup, no summer of international football. Instead, a clear runway into pre-season under Mourinho, a fight for minutes in a revamped Real Madrid, and the possibility of sharing a dressing room with Bernardo Silva if the move goes through.
Engines roared in Montmelo. The real noise, for him, is still to come in Chamartin.
